Happy June 1st!
Lately, my meals have been all about the H20. It’s easy to get dehydrated without knowing it, but I have to be especially mindful of my water intake now that I’m taking the hot yoga classes, sweating out water I didn’t even know was there. One way that I sneak in a little extra water is having a cucumber with my lunches. Cucumbers are mostly water and they are just so versatile. Throw them into a salad, scoop them into yummy dips, pump up a smoothie, or top a sandwich.
This cucumber mint salad is something I’ve been enjoying lately. It is refreshing, light, with a hint of minty goodness. It goes along perfectly as a side to my favourite avocado and veggie sandwiches.
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Refreshing Cucumber Salad with Creamy Mint Dressing
Inspired by Savvy vegetarian and Clean Start.
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 English cucumbers (or type of your choice), chopped
- 1/4 cup packed mint leaves, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 2-3 tsp chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk (Stir can well before measuring out)
- 1/2 cup packed mint leaves
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder, for slight thickening (optional)
Directions:
1. Chop the cucumbers, red onion, 1/4 cup packed fresh mint, and dill. Place into large bowl and combine.
2. In a food processor, make the dressing by processing the rest of the ingredients (coconut milk, mint, olive oil, lime juice, agave, salt, optional arrowroot powder). Process until mostly smooth (tiny mint speckles will remain).
3. Pour the dressing onto the cucumber salad and mix well. Chill for an hour or two or serve immediately. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes 2 servings.
Note: Salad does not keep well overnight in the fridge (it gets a bit watery), so I suggest eating it the same day.
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The dressing is great with just a touch of sweetness added in. The agave goes along nicely with the mint and a pinch of salt helps bring out the flavour even more. You can have fun playing around with the dressing…there isn’t an exact way to make this salad and that’s why I love it!
…and….hydrate!
My set up:
I know, it’s like finding out Santa Claus doesn’t exist right? ;)
Back on Track Month Recap
At the beginning of May, I wrote a post about being in a major slump. In early Spring, I was side-lined with a Sciatic injury for over a month. Shortly after that, I was sick for 2-3 weeks. This, combined with crappy weather, had me feeling really out of balance in all areas in my life. I felt out of shape, my cravings were all over the place, and I just felt like I lost my zest for life.
On May 1st, I decided to make some small changes that would add up over time. Not only was my birthday approaching, but I knew that I wanted to get things back on track for the upcoming Summer season.
So, I devised a plan!
I first had to identify the slumps in my life and then create solutions for each:
|
SLUMP |
SOLUTION |
| 1) Sickness | Stick with healthy flu fighting habits. |
| 2) Sciatic Nerve Injury | My sciatic nerve isn’t sore anymore (yay) and I want to continue stretching and yoga as a preventative measure. |
| 3) Exercise | I was unable to exercise during much of April (except for the elliptical a bit during the sciatic injury) and I’m feeling out of shape. My solution is to create a few exercise goals that I will be able to stick to in May. More on this below. |
| 4) Eating | For me, it is extra difficult to eat healthy when I’m not working out. When I am working out, I find it much easier to eat healthy. They go hand in hand. My eating in April has been all over the map. I lost my appetite and taste buds during my flu so I have had no desire to eat vegetables like I usually do. This also left me craving super sweet foods. In May I need to get my eating back on track. |
Then, I broke the slumps down into achievable goals for May.
Exercise Goals For May & How I did:
Exercise Goals: Strength – Stretch – Cardio – Rest every week.
- Strength: 1 Body Pump class per week
- Stretch: 1 yoga class per week (I’m going to try hot yoga soon), plus stretching after workouts
- Cardio like running, hiking, elliptical 5-6 days a week for ~30-60 minutes each.
- 1 Rest day a week, or as needed
How did I do?
- Strength —> Body Pump: I didn’t achieve this goal! I did just 2 Body Pump classes in May.
- Stretch –> Hot yoga was definitely the surprise of May! Little did I know that it would not only be a great stretch, but also a killer strength class. My muscles have gotten so much stronger since I started hot yoga and I prefer it over Body Pump.
- Cardio –> I achieved this goal, focusing on elliptical, walking, and low-mileage running 6 days a week.
- Rest: I took 1 rest day a week.
All in all, May was a fantastic month for getting my exercise back on track. I’m so thankful I put my fears aside and tried hot yoga because now I can’t see myself without it.
Eating Goals For May & How I did:
- Eat more veggies: wash & chop up a bunch every Sunday and keep in containers in fridge as a time saver.
- Green Monsters few times a week
- Juicing most mornings
- Structure Meals and limit snacking: Good sized breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, light dinner & treat.
- Cook! I’ve been going through a major cooking slump (basically not wanting to cook at all), but I want to get back to cooking more dinners and having more structured meals.
- Meal Planning: Along the same line of cooking more dinners, I need to plan out meals that I can cook each week. I hope to do this on the weekend before grocery shopping for the week.
How did I do?
- More veggies: When I went to the grocery store, I was mindful to fill the cart up with mostly veggies and fruit. Having so much produce in the fridge forced me to use it up before it went bad, so I definitely increased my consumption.
- Green Monsters: I’ve been enjoying a few Green Monsters a week and so glad to have them in my diet consistently again.
- Juicing: I was juicing every morning for the first two weeks in May and then I fell off the bandwagon ever since. I’m very hot and cold with juicing. Sometimes I love it and other times the thought of cleaning the machine just makes me run from it!
- Structured meals and limit snacking: I did not achieve this goal! I’m such a snacker and often do not take enough time for proper sit-down meals when I’m busy. I need to continue to work on this in June.
- Cook: In May, I still struggled with cooking slumps on and off, but I think I have finally gotten my groove back. Making large meals with leftovers has been a great time-saver for quick lunches and leftovers.
- Meal planning: I wouldn’t say I have been good for meal planning or that I even enjoy it, but I do try to plan my meals 1-2 days in advance now. I will never be a weekly meal planner though! It’s just not in my personality.
While I didn’t achieve all my eating goals for May, I still consider it to be a success. My eating feels back on track and much more balanced. My cravings for sweets have gone down a bit too.
In just 1 month, I feel like a lot has changed. My energy has increased and I just feel happier all around.
I’ve realized that slumps aren’t always a bad thing; they tell us that something is out of balance and we need to change. While this can be uncomfortable and anxiety-provoking, approaching it with small, achievable goals can help. If I hadn’t gone through my slump, I probably never would have fallen in love with yoga and rekindled my relationship with myself. While I consider exercise and eating goals to be important, my biggest gain from this month has been an unplanned one- improving inner peace and self-love.
Coming up, I’ll tell you what my goals are for June. In the meantime, let me know if you have any goals for this month!
What do you hope to achieve in June?
I have so much I want to accomplish in June but at the top of my list is to build my naturopathic patient base and to really develop a brand for myself. I hope to do this my networking with people who share my view of health and wellness, to offer free seminars about topics I am passionate about and to organize “tea parties” where people can gather their friends and family and ask questions about naturopathic medicine and their health goals in a casual and relaxed setting.
Additionally I want to improve my professional blog to make it more engaging, relatable and visually appealing.
What a great post Angela! And oh what do I not want to accomplish in June? It’s a little overwhelming. Lol. By the way, I totally feel you on the working out makes me eat healthier wagon. I honestly thought I was the only one! I’ve been sick so many times these past couple of months and it’s been really tough trying to get back on track!
Oh yeah… my goals for June. (hehe)
– drink 8 at least 8 glasses of water a day
– start working out at least 3 times a week.
– get at least 8 hours of sleep a day
– create a vision board (I know, I’m so late on this)
– have a clear focus and be less distracted
I think that’s it. Ha. I think I’m reaching a little too high, but better to have a clear goal in mind right? What was it that they say? “If you don’t know where you are going. How can you expect to get there?” – Basil Walsh
Good on you for taking action in getting out of your slump!
ps. This salad looks amazing!
I’ve been terrible with my water consumption lately! Definitely need to work on that! I’m actually doing a post on my June goals tomorrow too! But I have to say, inner peace will always be one of them! <3
P.S. love your table cloth! It's so cute! But I'm a sucker for anything purple too :-)
Congrats on all your success with your goals this month! It always feels so good to get out of a slump. It really makes me appreciate my healthy lifestyle and makes me want to put the effort into maintaining it!
I think improving inner peace and self love is the most important goal. When they are present, everything else is so much easier to achieve.
Thank you for this post Angela. I’m still in a slump from my sciatic injury and I really needed to read this. :)
I love the idea of monthly goals, they seem so much more attainable that way. Plus if it seems unrealistic after a few weeks, you can tweak it again soon. Great idea! I’m going to try this.
Thank you for posting how you were able to take charge of that slump and push yourself out of it. I know we all feel like we are in a rut sometimes but in the midst of it we can feel so overwhelmed and like we don’t know exactly how to make ourselves feel better. I’m sort of stuck there myself, but I’m a list person, and seeing you take it down to concrete goals has shown me it’s time to do the same. So thank you again, and as for you I’d say your month of May was a success; most importantly you FEEL better and back on track…so congrats on that and I’m sure June will only be brighter. :)
That salad looks so good! It would be perfect after a hot yoga class to rehydrate and refule.
My goals for June are to ditch my scale, drink more water, eat more healthy fats and raw food, run more, and finally get my driver’s lisence!!
It was inspiring to read your goals/outcomes! Two of my fitness goals for June: Take a hot yoga class, and run 5 miles at once!
I just wanted to say thank you. I look to your website frequently. I am trying to change my eating habits and struggle. I want to eat more vegetarian meals but being that this is all new to me I find it a constant battle. I struggle with kids who are picky eaters, a husband who is willing to eat vegetarian and a very busy life style. I have tried your recipes and have not ever been disappointed! I made your enchiladas with the creamy avacado sauce this evening. My hubby was the only one who tried (the kids were reluctant, although the youngest tried but said it was too hot and spicy and spit it out)……I will continue to try changing my ways daily. Thank you for your website and your inspirations!
My goals for June are to focus on a raw fruit and veggie diet and get back to running
I’m a coach so I help clients move towards their health and lifestyle goals and really achieve them and cement them, so I loved seeing you writing here that making small goals and taking a step by step process as it’s definitely what works best! You achieve so much more for far longer when it’s not the all or nothing approach.
Thanks for sharing Angela!
This was such a brilliant post! I’m a college freshman (in Australia) so we’re just about to finish exams. I’ve been feeling awful for about the whole later half of the semester, and I think its because I haven’t been eating well or really exercising at all (at most like once a week). But this post has given me an idea on how I can get back on track with food and exercise. Thank you!
My goals for June:
Go to Superfit regularly 3x per week (a group-personal training place that does cardiovascular endurance circuit training)
Start each day with protein
Continue to experiment gleefully with cooking with whole foods as much as possible
Continue to work to get over my fear of vegetables
To that end, I just had my first ever Green Monster! I’m home for the summer, and I actually made my mom make it with me because I was too scared to do it on my own. But it was pretty darn good! I’m so very very pleased to have just given my body all of that amazing nutrients in such a harmless package, and am very excited to try out some of the fancified ones. I have my eye on the pumpkin pie and chocolate-pb ones, in particular…
i think you took the words right out of my mouth! may was a rough month. my veggie intake wasn’t so great, my exercise habits fell a bit to the way side, and i felt way of out balance. but i did get back in touch with myself and learned i have a lot of self loving to practice! i’m using june to turn it all around. i agree — consistent movement always leads me to a consistently healthy diet. here’s to a new month and new goals. good luck, angela :)!
It looks like you did pretty well with your May goals! I like your idea of setting goals for each month – I think I will try it for June.
Yum, I can’t wait to make that cucumber salad! Thanks for sharing your goals updates; it’s encouraging to know what a difference a month can make. I’m striving to get back on track with my strength training this month.
Thank you! I have been in a slump for easily the last month and have been looking, unsuccessfully, for ways to get out of it – beginning of a new month and a new season seems like a good time to try your tricks!
I just wrote a post about my slump in the winter and how I’m trying to pick myself up in June. :-) I’m hoping to be in more of a routine. I want to go to the gym more, cook more, just enjoy life more.
And I think I can start by making this delicious salad.
what a nice recap of your last month. you sure did go through a lot (injury, etc.), yet you stayed so positive from what we could see. :)
I adore cucumbers and this is perfect for me. I have all the ingredients, maybe tommorow?
:)